Musical instrument



G. DANIELSON.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1920.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

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G. DANIELSON.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1920.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

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WITNESS: /M 4" PATENT OFFICE.

GOTTFRIED-DANIELSON, OF WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

Application filed February 12, 1920. Serial No. 358,228.

Be it known that I, Gor'rrnino DANIEL- SON, a subject of the King of'Sweden, and

To all whom it may concern:

a resident of Weehawken, New Jersey, have 1 invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanical musical instruments, particularly those operated pneumatically, and has for its object to provide a simple construction enabling the instrument to be quickly and conveniently changed for manual or mechanical 'opera'-' tion as desired.

division of the pneumatic or mechanical player into two sections one of which remains in position permanently while the 7 other is movable, preferably pivotally, to either an active position 1 in which it cooperates with said fixed section, or to a position in which the mechanical player is thrown out of action while at the same time the ordinary keyboard is brought intoposition for manual operation. These and other features of my invention will now be described in detail and then pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical section on line 1--1 of Fig. 2, showing a piano with the parts in position for mechanical playing; Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation, with the parts in the same position; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the parts in position for manual playing; Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged partial vertical sections, on the plane indicated at 44 in Fig. 2, and showing the meeting or cooperating parts of the two player sections in positions corresponding to Figs. 3 and 1 respectively; and Fig. 6 is a partial horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

A designates the piano-action which may be of any suitable or approved construction, the particular action shown having a wippen 10 to which is attached rigidly a block 10 adapted to be struck either by the corresponding key 11 of the keyboard (for manual operation) or by the abstract or striker 12 of the corresponding mechanical action. Each striker or abstract 12' is operated by its striking pneumatic 13 in the well-known manner.

The keys 11 are carried by a swinging frame 14.

box or frame 14 preferably having a partition 14 which (with the keys in their normalapproximately horizontal position) divides the said frame into an upper com.- partment containing the keys and a lower compartment containing certain parts of the mechanical action, said parts of the mechanical action, together with certain parts located at the sides, constituting the movable section of the. mechanical action;

The frame 14 is pivoted to the side walls 15 of the instrument at 16, by means of brackets 14". When swung down as in Fig. 3, said frame 14 rests on suitable stops 15 secured to the side wall 15, a panel 17, hinged to the upper edge of the lower front wall portion 18, being swung down under these conditions, as shown. The stationary upper portion 19 of the front wall has hinged to its lower edge a panel 20 of about the same height as said portion 19, and to the lower edge of said panel is hinged another panel 21 of proper dimensions to reach the upper surface of the frame 14 when in this position. The piano, when thus arranged for manual playing, presents the usual appearance and does not suggest any mechanical playing means, since the parts of the mechanical action carried by the frame 14 are invisible in this position.

In the lower compartment of the frame through gearing 25; 26 indicating the tube through which suction is excited to operate the motor (Fig. 2). From the several openings of the tracker bar 24 individual tubes or conduits 27 lead to corresponding channels 28' in blocks 28 located on the swinging frame 14 at the sides thereof (to the right of the partition 14, in Fig. 1). To

give access to the central portionffor the insertion and removal of the music rolls, a horizontally sliding panel 29 of well-known character is provided on the swinging The blocks 28 are made with recesses 28" adapted when the frame 14 is swung up as in Figs. 3 and 5, to receive registering pins 30" which project from corresponding fixed blocks 30 provided with channels 30' corresponding in number and position to the channels 28. In the particular construction shown, each block 28 and 30 has fortyfour channels so that connections are af- 5 forded for playing eighty-eight notes. The blocks 30, while fixed (as distinguished from the blocks 28 swinging with the frame 14:) are not absolutely stationary, but are supported yieldingly by means of horizontal springs 31, each having one end attached firmly to a side vvall 15 of the piano, and the other end connected to the corresponding block 30 at the center in such a manner as to form a vertical pivot 31. It will be under- 15 stood that the block 28 is also provided witha channel one end of which is connected with the suction tube 26 leading to the motor, while the other end of said channel is adapted to register with a corresponding '20 channel 32 in theblock 30 (Fig. 6). This channel, like the channels 30, is connected in any well-known or approved manner with a chest from which air is exhausted, say by operating bellows through the medium of pedals, suchas indicated at 33. Many of the parts of this pneumatic mechanism have been omitted from the drawings, as they are well-known in the art.

Inasmuch as the block is mounted yield- While I have shown a yielding support 5 for the fixed block 30, it will be obvious that it is immaterial which of the blocks 28, 30 is supported yieldingly on its carrier, and that if desired both blocks might be so supported, since the same desirable results will 40 be obtained in each case, viz.: of efiecting an automatic mutual adjustment of themeeting faces of the two blocks, and pressing said faces together to obtain a tight joint between the registering channels of the respective blocks.

As shown in Fig. 1, when the frame 14: is swung up so that the piano or other instrument may be played mechanically, the panel 17 is swung. up, as is also the panel 20 with the panel 211. the latter being swung down from the panel 20. A suitable catch is generally prdigided to lock the panel 20 in this position. 5

I claim:

1. In a musical; instrument adapted for manual or mechanical operation as desired, an action, a mechanical device for operating said action, comprising a relatively fixed section for engaging said action, and com plementary section movable into and out of operative relation to the first-named section, and means for operating the action manually, said means being connected to move in unison with said movable section of the mechanical playing device in such a manner as to bring the said manual means into operative position when the movable section of the mechanical playing device is I moved out of operative versa.

2. In a musical instrument adapted for either manual or mechanical operation as desired, a movable frame, a manually operated mechanism carried by said frame, a mechanically operative device likewise carried bysaid frame, and means whereby the movement of the frame will bring selec-v tively either the manual mechanism or the mechanically operative device into position position, and vice for playing the instrument.

3, In a musical instrument adapted for either manual or pneumatic operation as desired, a device for playing the instrument manually, said device being movable into and out of operative position, and mechanism for playing the instrument pneumatically, said mechanism comprisingarelatively fixed section and a complementary section movable in unison with said manual playing.

with corresponding pneumatic channels adapted to register and communicate with each other when the manual playing device is moved out of operative position, one of said sections being supported elastically so that the sections will be pressed together to produce tight joints at the meeting ends of said channels.

5. In a musical instrument adapted for either manual or mechanical operation as desired, a device for playing the instrument manually, said device being movable into' and out of operative position, and mechanism for playing the instrument mechanically, said mechanism comprising a relatively fixed section and .a complementary section movable in unison with said manual playing device, said sections being provided with companion parts adapted to cooperate when the manual playing device is moved out of operative position.

6. In a musical instrument adapted for either manual or mechanical operation as desired, a device for playing the instrument manually, said device being movable" into and out of operative position, and mechanism for playing the instrument mechanically, said mechanism comprising a relatively fixed section and a complementary section movable in unison with said manual I playing device, said sections being provided with companion parts adapted to cooperate when the manual playing device is moved out of operative'position, one of said sections being supported elastically so that the meeting faces of the two sections will be pressed together in the operative position of the mechanical playing device.

7. In a musical instrument, mechanism for playing said instrument mechanically, said mechanism comprising a relatively fixed section and a complementary section movable into and out of operative relation to said fixed section, one of said sections being supported elastically so that the meeting faces of the two sections will be pressed together in the'operative position of said mechanism.

8. In a musical instrument, mechanism for playing said instrument pneumatlcally,

said mechanism comprising a relatively fixed section and a complementary section movable into and out of operative relation to said fixed section, both sections being provided with corresponding pneumatic channels adapted to register and communicate with each other in the operative posi tion of said mechanism, and one of said sections being supported elastically so that the vice versa.

10. In a musical. instrument adapted for either manual or mechanical operation as desiredya swinging frame, a manual playing device carried by'said frame, and a mechanical playing device comprising a section carried by. said frame and a complementary relatively fixed section arranged to be brought into and out of cooperative relation with the first-named section as the manual playing device is brought out of and into operative position respectively, one of said sections being supported elastically to press the sections together in their opera-v tive position. GOTTF RIED DANIELSON. 

